Poet, film maker, and artist Rachel O’Neill says they’re excited to relocate to Ōtepoti from Te Whanganui-a-Tara to undertake the 12-month fellowship.

“The Robert Burns Fellowship supports writers to be bold, imaginative and maybe an extra bit courageous, too, to discover new capabilities through doing things differently, or doing different things.

“Receiving the fellowship means I can continue to devote passion and energy to my next books, public programmes and collaborations.

“It is also a reminder that I wouldn’t be here without the support of many people in the wider arts community, and to reciprocate this generosity and faith in me as I take up the fellowship. It’s an incredible opportunity and dream come true.”

An author of three published books, with numerous other projects in development, O’Neill says living and working in Ōtepoti will provide vital inspiration, particularly by participating in the local arts community.

“I have a background in visual art, filmmaking and more recently music, and I’m really excited about potential synergies with local creatives and like-minded collaborators.”

They believe everyone is innately creative.

“Even living a life can be a creative act in itself. For this reason, I enjoy connecting with people, including other artists and those who appreciate the creative process.

“Solitude is important to me, too. The more I can hear my inner voice, the better I can listen to what is being expressed around me.

“It’s a practical necessity, too, when doing the steady work of writing and editing books.”

During their fellowship, they plan to develop the remaining narrative poems and prose poems in their fourth book of poetry, Master of the Female Half-Lengths, as well as begin to outline and conduct research for their fifth book, a verse novel called Captured Stars, set in planetaria around the world.

“You’ll likely find me lurking in the Tūhura Otago Museum 3D planetarium, trying my best to understand astronomical maths.”

They would love to continue collaborations with local composers and musicians for a concert based around pieces responding to their latest book Symphony of Queer Errands, published earlier this year.

“If I can also fit in a few workshops, and an event based around a resilient musical note travelling 500 years into the future, inspired by The Holy Presence of Joan d’Arc by Julius Eastman and its galvanising call to ‘speak boldly’, I’ll be happy.”